Kids & Family
Paralympians to Jackson Cluster Students: You Can Succeed
'My dream is to inspire people to go beyond perceived limitations.'
EDGEWOOD — Obstacles and challenges don't define you.
How you deal with those difficulties, however, will.
That's the message students in the Jackson High School cluster of schools were told last week during a special assembly in which they met and heard the life experiences of Paralympic and Olympic athletes.
One of those athletes was Brad Snyder, a Navy veteran who lost his eyesight in 2011 in an IED explosion while stationed in Afghanistan.
Snyder, a Paralympic swimmer, holds three medals — two gold and one silver — won in the 2012 London Games and is current world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle among blind swimmers.
"Competing on the one-year anniversary of the day I lost my vision — one year later I was able to win a gold medal," Snyder said. "My dream is to inspire people to go beyond perceived limitations."
The gathering was part of the Graduation Generation-Atlanta initiative, which was launched in 2010 as a partnership of Atlanta Public Schools, Emory University's Office of University-Community Partnerships and Communities in Schools of Atlanta, a nonprofit organization.
Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income at Black Rock Inc. and Emory's Board Trustee helped launched the initiative with a gift of $1 million, while Emory kicked in $500,000.
The program aims to boost student achievement and keeping children on track to remain in school, through mentorships and other holistic approaches to personal development.
It focused on Coan Middle School but will expand to include 10 schools in the cluster to serve some 3,500 pupils from the current 350.
Coan, which served as Phase 1 of the project, is already seeing success:
Rieder told the kids that no matter their life circumstances, they had parents, teachers and school administrators waiting to help them challenge themselves and support them in their endeavors.
"It takes a lot of hard work," he told the students. "We care that you succeed."
He sought to reiterate that through the personal stories shared by several Paralympic and Olympic athletes who came to share their stories and offer encouragement.
East Atlanta Patch captured some of the stories they shared with the students.
Please click on the video to watch.
How you deal with those difficulties, however, will.
That's the message students in the Jackson High School cluster of schools were told last week during a special assembly in which they met and heard the life experiences of Paralympic and Olympic athletes.
One of those athletes was Brad Snyder, a Navy veteran who lost his eyesight in 2011 in an IED explosion while stationed in Afghanistan.
Snyder, a Paralympic swimmer, holds three medals — two gold and one silver — won in the 2012 London Games and is current world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle among blind swimmers.
"Competing on the one-year anniversary of the day I lost my vision — one year later I was able to win a gold medal," Snyder said. "My dream is to inspire people to go beyond perceived limitations."
The gathering was part of the Graduation Generation-Atlanta initiative, which was launched in 2010 as a partnership of Atlanta Public Schools, Emory University's Office of University-Community Partnerships and Communities in Schools of Atlanta, a nonprofit organization.
Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income at Black Rock Inc. and Emory's Board Trustee helped launched the initiative with a gift of $1 million, while Emory kicked in $500,000.
The program aims to boost student achievement and keeping children on track to remain in school, through mentorships and other holistic approaches to personal development.
It focused on Coan Middle School but will expand to include 10 schools in the cluster to serve some 3,500 pupils from the current 350.
Coan, which served as Phase 1 of the project, is already seeing success:
- Student performance improved
- Parental involvement doubled
- Absenteeism decreased
- Disciplinary referrals dropped
- Performance on standardized tests improved in sixth grade math, sixth and seventh grade social studies, seventh and eighth grade science, and eighth grade language arts.
Rieder told the kids that no matter their life circumstances, they had parents, teachers and school administrators waiting to help them challenge themselves and support them in their endeavors.
"It takes a lot of hard work," he told the students. "We care that you succeed."
He sought to reiterate that through the personal stories shared by several Paralympic and Olympic athletes who came to share their stories and offer encouragement.
East Atlanta Patch captured some of the stories they shared with the students.
Please click on the video to watch.
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